Climate Law in International Context
What is CLIC and what is its vision?
The idea behind CLIC
Climate Law in International Context (CLIC) is an innovative and transnational program built on a cooperation between the Universities of Chile and Hamburg in the field of climate change and environmental protection, connecting teaching, research and practice. Under the framework of CLIC a transnational “Climate Law Clinic” has emerged in 2024 in the form of a cooperation between both law faculties. Designed as a contribution to the climate justice discourse, the project inherently relies on the fruitful exchange of diverse perspectives, building bridges across the North-South divide. CLIC is a program not only for but also by students, who are considered as active co-creators of the project and active participants in the triangle of academia, practice and civil society.
In a nutshell, CLIC shall be a program wherein
- climate change meets law,
- theory meets practice,
- beginners meet professionals,
- various countries, cultures and perspectives meet.
The program
The program grounds on four cornerstones: teaching, supporting activities in research and strategic litigation, knowledge transfer and partnership development. Above all, CLIC seeks to offer an in-depth training and knowledge dissemination in the areas of international climate and environmental law, human rights law, rights of nature, climate (in)justice and connected fields. Hereby, CLIC aims to strengthen the cooperation and to form networks between students, scholars as well as legal practitioners and members of civil society. In the long run, students themselves shall function as “multiplicators” of knowledge insofar as they put their acquired knowledge into practice, e.g., by designing educational programs for high school students and the public in general (“Public Climate Schools”) and supporting legal practitioners with acquired organizational, research and analysis skills.
Teaching
Students receive in-depth training and knowledge dissemination based on a curriculum developed by both universities in cooperation with collaborating partners from legal practice and civil society. Covered areas include, inter alia, international climate and environmental law, human rights law, rights of nature, climate (in)justice as well as methodology and strategy in the field of climate and environmental litigation. Students will also be encouraged to explore legal theories and schools of thought particularly relevant in this context, including decolonial, eco- and posthuman feminist theory. Courses are taught by scholars and practitioners both in presence and digitally. While the program aims for long-term cooperation, the minimum participation of students is two semesters.
Research
In the long run, the program aims to prepare students to put the acquired knowledge into practice. The educational program therefore seeks to enable students to contribute to both scholarly projects and legal practice through, inter alia, the conduct of in-depth research and legal analysis and the compilation of corresponding documents. Students of CLIC have already been involved in two projects based on requests from two NGOs. One case deals with war-related environmental damages in Ukraine, where students have been asked to identify internationally recognized methodologies for the documentation and calculation of war-related environmental damages. Another case concerns the environmental uncertainties related to announced activities of deep seabed mining. In this context, students have been asked to provide a legal analysis on the possibilities of inquiring and imposing a moratorium or precautionary pause on mining activities.
Knowledge Transfer
In the spirit of cooperation between theory and practice and in a cycle of mutual teaching and learning, it is a core idea of CLIC that students themselves take the role of “multiplicators” of knowledge in the interconnected fields of climate change, environmental protection and the law, engaging with scholars, practitioners and the broader public. To this end, the program gives students the opportunity to develop, manage and implement their own projects under the broader framework of CLIC. Part of these student-driven projects is the organization of “Public Climate Schools” at both universities under the supervision of the coordinating team and in collaboration with practitioners and civil society. Furthermore, students are encouraged to develop a high school program, in the context of which they regularly teach and engage with pupils from high schools in Hamburg and Santiago to begin another knowledge dissemination process on climate change and its international legal implications
Partnership Deveplopment
CLIC aims to facilitate the establishment of long-lasting partnerships at multiple levels between students, scholars, practitioners and the broader public. In particular, the program seeks to enhance collaboration on important climate and environmental cases and projects. It has both the potential to serve as a blueprint for similar projects and to see further initiatives grow under CLIC as an umbrella program. CLIC wishes to inspire the next generation of environmental and climate lawyers in academia and legal practice. In this sense, from both the students’ as well as the collaborators’ perspective, CLIC may have the potential to create future career perspectives and opportunities for collaboration.
Who is involved in CLIC?
At the Heart of CLIC: The Students
Student engagement and involvement lie at the heart of CLIC as a program, which is not only designed for but also by students. They are at the center of the triangle between academia, practice and society, acting as recipients and multiplicators of knowledge dissemination in the legal climate and environmental context through research, strategic litigation and transfer. In the current pilot phase of CLIC, the first cohort of the program consists of five students from each university (Hamburg and Santiago de Chile).
Content and Coordination: The Academic Leads
The project is under the academic lead of Verena Kahl, M.A., Ass. iur. (University of Hamburg, Chair of Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur) and Prof. Dr. Ezio Costa Cordella (Universidad de Chile). Franziska Bachmann (University of Hamburg, Chair of Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur) and Cristóbal Melo (Universidad de Chile) act as project coordinators.
Connecting with Practice: Collaborating Partners
In the context of CLIC, we engage with a diverse set of cooperating partners from academia, legal practice and civil society We are constantly striving to expand this inspiring network to include individuals, organizations and further actors. We truly believe that only the inclusion and equal consideration of a great variety of perspectives and experiences will enable the program’s success. This collaboration can take very different forms and scales – all thoughts and ideas are warmly welcomed!